Gamlbling With Your Life
by star-girl-mag
Summary: The Phantom is back... or is he? From the creator of The Unholy Undead. A dark phic with new twists. Not a Mary Sue. Updated every Tuesday.
1. Chapter 1

Sarah looked around at the other auditioning people. There were around two hundred other people sitting in the auditorium. She guessed that some of them were supporters and staff, but mostly people auditioning. She honestly had not expected so many people to be present, and these were just the chorus auditions. When she studied ballet, dancers were chosen by instructors through the course of the year for parts. Since she had not danced on a professional level she had never been to an audition. She had never been to an audition in her life. This was an entirely new process to her.

Sarah had just months before moved to Seattle to live with her mother after graduating from a boarding school in Orlando. This was a fresh start for the girl who was not yet eighteen. She was uncertian about her life. Where she should go now. Sarah's mother had suggested auditioning for The Seattle Opera House. Though Sarah had no experience she thought it would be a new and interesting challenge, just to audition. The only thing she had on her resume was her extensive knowlege of all forms of dance, particularly ballet. She had almost never sung in her life, yet here she was ready to sing in a room full of proffesionals to be cast in an operetta. It was a longshot, at best.

It was nearly noon and a few people were still filling out papers. She could tell it was going to be a long process. She looked down nervously at her music and read it over once more as if it would change a thing. Sarah needed a job and this was perhaps the most interesting thing she could think of.

"If I can have all of your attention, we can get started." As the tall lean man spoke these words from the stage the crowd quickly silenced their chatter. "Hi! My name is Jacob I am the director of "Pirates of Penzance." I'd greatly appreciate it if we could have your full attention, as we'd like to get through this as quickly as possible. Please make sure you have all of your music with you before your name is called. You will know when that is because we will be calling you all up here alphabetically..."

Alphabetically? Sarah had not thought about that. Her last name was Aster. That meant she'd be one of the first ones to be called up. The thought completely horrified her.

She pondered her situation. 'What if I mess up?' She thought. 'What if I embarrass myself?' She wrestled with her thoughts until she murmured "I can't do this." She stood up to walk out.

"Sarah Aster." The man's voice rang loud and clear across the entire auditorium.

Fate had dealt her a cruel hand. She was in fact the first person called up. She screamed inside her head for she knew it was to late to leave now.

Sarah turned and walked to the stage. She smiled but inside her head over flowed with nervous thoughts. Silently she chanted to herself: 'You can do it. You can do it. You can do it.' She handed her music to the piano player and turned back to the house.

Sarah sang the song with a few unnoticeable mistakes but she was sure she had murdered the song. In reality she had actually done quite well. She did lack training, and strength but it was obvious through the passion in her voice that she was a very gifted person and with some training and experience she would do very well.

She left the stage certain that there was no place for her at the opera but she decided to stay as it would be rude to leave. She sat back down practicly shaking, her entire body rushed with endorphans. She had done it, but it was one of the most nerve wrecking things she had ever done. She sat aloof from everyone and took everything in. This was not only her first audition but the first time she had ever been in the Opera House it was amazingingly vast and beautiful. The whole building had a gothic feel to it. It was almost creepy.

Then she could swear she heard something over the sound of an auditioner's "Summertime."

"Sarah." She turned behind her to find no one there. She settled back into her chair and ignored the sound when she could not find from where it came.

"Sarah." The voice spoke again. The voice was obviously male and oddly beautiful. Once again she turned and found nothing and no one. She looked all around. Seeing nothing she once again turned back towards the stage. No one in the auditorioum had heard it for no one moved an inch or responded to the sound. Sarah must have been dreaming it.

"Sarah." There was no denying it. There was someone calling to her. She could in some strange way sense the direction from where it came. She looked up at the second tier where the private boxes were and saw something. A figure of some sort, but she only saw it for a second, then it was gone, it was too dark to guess who or what it was but there was something there. It made Sarah's stoumach jump just a little. Then through some sort of curiosity or other emotion she stood and walked out of the auditorium.

She had to know who it was that called to her. She began to walk up the stairs to the second tier and again she heard the voice. "Sarah, come to me!" What was she doing? She suddenly started feeling rational. She was following some faceless voice by herself into a part of the opera house she had never been. She suddenly felt very foolish, she turned to walk back down the stairs, but found her legs unable to move. Sarah was frieghtened by this. She was not sure why but she could not make herelf move. Perhaps she was stuck in her own fear.

"Come to me! My angel!" The voice insisted and Sarah found herself climbing up the stairs towards the sound. She could not stop herself, she had to know who or what was saying this. She could not manage to turn around but she did manage to stop her self. She thrust herself down onto the stairs and began to cry. She was so scared. She might have been afraid of herself. She felt weak and powerless, she strugled to regain her compsure to walk down the stairs.

She stood ready to return to her seat and then she walked right up the stairs as if her body were ignoring her mind completely. This time a strange sensation filled Sarah with joy. It was like there was music in her mind. No, there_ was _music! It calmed her nerves as she walked towards the box from which the sound came.

She walked to the curtian that covered the box and stopped. She could see the curtian move, there was someone behind it. There had to be! Sarah's heart pounded in her ears as she placed her hand on the curtian. She could feel the sweat on her face turn cold. The suspense was unbearable. In her mind she counted to the and pulled back the curtian.

There, before her was two empty chairs and below was the stage where she could see an audition in progress, but no one was there. Nothing, no sign of anyone. Sarah felt extremely foolish. Everything she had just experienced seemed so real yet she knew it was not. She had let her childish imagination get the better of her. It must of been the Opera House that had done it to her. It had started with Sarah noticing how creepy the archetecture seemed and it grew from there. Sarah sighed and laughed at herself. She closed the curtian and returned to her seat.

The end of the auditions had finally come at 5 PM. All though Sarah had been there for almost six hours, she was not bored. The auditions were rather entertaining. There were a few people who's voices were greatly lacking in the talent department. All the others were great singers, and union members, which made Sarah even less hopeful of being involved in the production.

She wondered how they were going to cast the play with so many good people. It would be very hard to chose.

"Thank you all for coming." said Jacob the director in a completely exhausted voice. "We'll try to get back to all of you sometime this week. We will discuss what we've seen, and heard today and decide upon a cast. We'll try our best to call all of you and let you know weather or not you made it... Alright I guess I'll see some of you in a few weeks and the rest of you... hope you'll do better next time."

'Hope you'll do better next time.' That sounded awfully snobby to Sarah. Perhaps this theatre stuff wasn't cut out for her anyway. Well she'd know for sure next week.


	2. Chapter 2

Sarah sat at the dinning room table with a pile of paperwork in front of her. As she sat filling out forms and signing papers she heard her mom walk through the door. Her mother walked in to the room with the mail in her hand and sat down next to her daughter.

"What are you doing?" Asked her mother.

"Job applications." she said holding up the stack of papers.

"I see. What happened with that opera thing?"

"I do not think that is going to happen."

"Why not?"

"Well they haven't called."

"Yes but it's only Wendsday."

"I know but you should have seen that audition, there were alot of people and they're only casting a few people."

"What do you mean?"

"Well I didn't find this out 'til I got there but they don't usually don't do open casting like that, they cast from the company."

"So why the change now?"

"The next show of the season has a very large cast so they're short handed."

"I see."

"Not to mention of course these people auditioning, were amazing. I imagine many of them were rejects of the company. I felt pretty rediculious there. They're going to cast six chorus parts from the hundred or so people. I don't have a chance."

"Well you know you can allways get a job at the center."

"I know, it's just a pretty hard place to work isn't it.?"

"Yeah, but I went through all that, so it feels good to help others like myself."

"Well thanks I'll keep that in mind."

"I do hope you get that job though, it would cut comute time and save on gas. That's for sure."

"Yeah it's like what... three blocks from here?"

"Something like that." Then she added sudenly, "Oh, I almost forgot. This came in the mail for you." She said handing her an odd looking envelope.

Sarah looked at the envelope. It was made of parchment paper and looked as though it could possibly have been homemade. It was sealed with a red wax seal with the image of a rose on it. There was no addresses on it, not even a forwarding address. From this she guessed that it was more than likely hand delivered. All it said was "_To Miss Sarah Aster_"

She had taken her things upstairs to her room to read the letter in private. She ran her fingers along the seal and thought about it. Sarah did not ever remember recieving a letter sealed with wax. 'Who could have sent it?' she thought. Only one way to find out... open it. She read the letter.

_"Dear Miss Aster, _

_Welcome to the Opera House. I heard you sing at your audition. You are a very talented and beautiful woman. I heard the rage, the fury, the passion, and the power in your voice. I believe you could go very far, and with a little instruction will. I would like to help you live out your dreams, so I have decided to tutor you. You will know your full potential. Do not fear the music of the night. Soon all will be explained. _

_Until your first lesson, Your Angel of Music"_

Sarah read the letter a few times trying to make sense of it's contents. 'Welcome to the Opera House?' I haven't been accepted. 'Rage? Passion? Fury? Power? Tutor me?' None of it made sense. Who was the author of the letter?

She felt so strange thinking about it. She was intrigued by the mystery of the letter, yet slightly frightened of what the truth of it would hold. She was flattered by the word '_beautiful_.' Someone had called her beautiful and she did not even know who that 'someone' was. She had to find out who this 'Angel of Music' was.

Sudenly the phone rang. She placed the letter on top of the papers she had been attending to and flopped it down on her bed.

"I'll get it!" She yelled down to her mother, as she closed the door. She set the book on her desk and picked up the receiver.

"Hello."

"Hello. Is Sarah available?" Asked the rather familiar voice.

"This is her."

"This is Jacob, from the Seattle Opera House."

"O, hi." Sarah said lifelessly in an attempt to hide her excitement.

"I'm calling in regards to 'Pirates of Pinzance'..."

Sarah had no idea whether or not she'd made the cut. Of course she was very doubtful, but there was always that slim chance. She crossed her fingers.

"Welcome to the cast." He said in an exhausted voice.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she said unable to restrain her excitement.

"The first rehearsal is this Saturday at six o'clock. We'd appreciate it if you weren't late!" he snapped.

"O, I w-" She didn't even finish her sentence before he hung up on her.

She was so excited she did not even think about the fact that she had been treated so rudely just now, or even the fact that it was so odd that she had been cast. All she cared was that she had made it!


	3. Chapter 3

As walked towards Sarah the Opera House she felt as if her whole like was changing, perhaps it was. She was so apprehensive about the whole situation. When her head had cleared, after her phone call with Jacob, she had the chance to think about it. How had she made it into the company? Something was amiss about the whole situation. It didn't make any sense how she could get the part with no previous experience against nearly two hundred professionals.

She could not help but feel as if she were being watched as she approached the stairs of Opera House she started feeling strange. She turned about once, looking for anyone. It was a feeling that sent a shiver down her spine. The feeling was the same feeling she had had in the Opera House in the stairwell. Of course that was all in her mind, nothing was really there. She had merely spooked herself into believing it.

Suddenly, in a rush, two people passed Sarah. A man and a woman both forty-ish. When they had reached the huge front doors the woman stopped and turned around.

"Oh, I didn't see you there." She said looking at Sarah.

"That's okay." Sarah replied with a smile.

"You're new here. I should let you know, to watch yourself." The way she said this was very odd.

"What?" Sarah stammered a bit confused.

"I'm on to you." She said narrowing her eyes at Sarah then turning into the building. Sarah didn't even have time to think about what had just happened before she heard a voice behind her.

"Don't worry about Carla." Sarah turned to see a man walking up the stairs in her direction, "She just likes to throw around what small amount of power she has - makes her feel better about her self I guess."

"Thanks." Sarah said looking at the man. He was very young, and charming. He was a tall, dark and handsome type with a warm smile.

"You must be one of the new chorus girls." he said.

"Yeah." Sarah answered. "So what's her issue?"

"She likes to feel important." he answered plainly. "Chorus girls are an easy target. She's the lead in everything along with her husband Peter. I'd love to give her a piece of my mind but they're both on the board so I wouldn't cross her."

Sarah nodded though she really did not know what that meant. He saw through it...

"She helps control who is in the company and who is not."

"Okay." Sarah said as they both walked into the auditorium, and not a second too late for as they opened the doors Jacob spoke.

"Welcome to our first practice. As many of you already now my name is Jacob McDary." He said standing on the stage as the rest of the cast and crew sat in the house listening to him speak. "I'm the director of The Pirates of Pinzance. For those of you newcomers, I'd like to introduce to you all our crew members and I'd like you all to familiarize yourself with their names and faces."

Sarah took a seat a couple rows back and her new friend sat next to her. They watched the various people as they were called up by name. Assistant Director, music director, stage hands, stage manager, costumers etc. She didn't bother to really pay much attention she figured she'd introduce herself to each of them later and remember their names.

One person stuck out to her. It was a tall, slender woman, in her mid-twenties, with long, wavy, fiery red hair. She had piercing blue eyes and was to Sarah the picture of the perfect woman. She had a very kind and rounded face. Who was she? She was Athena Swanson the choreographer. Noticing her intense stare at the woman the man who sat beside her leaned over and whispered "Jacob's ex."

Sara looked over at him "What?"

"Yeah. This is the first thing they've done together since they broke up."

"Sheesh, I'll bet this is gonna be interesting." Sarah replied.

"Everyone in the theater knows, so it's not like I'm telling you some secret. I'll introduce you later."

"Okay, now that we're all settled, can you all open up your scripts to page four please. We'll be reading through the entire play, and doing a rough sing-through and the sooner we get done with, this the sooner we can all go home."

It took nearly two hours to read through the entire play. Sarah sat intently listening to the various people speak, and attempt to sing but every now and then her thoughts would stray to Athena and Jacob. In a way, she wished that man had not told her about them because now things were going to be a little more uncomfortable for her, but she probably would have found out anyway. It was one of those things that everyone in the Opera House knew, but kept polite about. As he explained, the fight that split them up happened during a rehearsal a year ago in front of the entire company. They were engaged to be married and she heard that Jacob had been cheating on her. Jacob was known for sleeping around. It had been rumored that several members in the company had been lured into his bed. All of this was kept very hush-hush though to avoid fights that could lead to dismissal.

They were finally done and had been excused to leave, and Sarah was gathering her things to go home. She saw the mystery man and Athena talking in a nearby aisle. Sarah walked slowly up toward the exit in hopes that her new friend would remember to introduce her. He did notice Sarah walking past the two of them and turned to her and politely introduced her.

"Hey Athena this is one our new chorus girls..." he stopped a beat, "What did you say your name was?"

"I don't think I ever told you. It's Sarah, Sarah Astor." Sarah reached out and shook the woman's hand. "Nice to meet you." Sarah shook Athena's hand but she did not shake back, her hand remained limp in Sarah's grip. She and the man exchanged glances, before he began to bust out in almost hysterical laughter.

"No wonder... Carla... hates you...so much!" he finally managed in between gasps. He kept looking at Athena and back at Sarah. It was as though he expected or hoped that one of us would join in his laughter. What ever it was that he was laughing at Athena knew but she remained un amused. Finally after he calmed down Athena gave him a very sharp look and asked, "Are you done?"

"Yep." He answered exhaling deeply with the last of his hilarity.

"Sarah." Said Athena "We were just going out to eat, would you like to come with us?" He looked shocked that Athena would ask such a question.

Sarah thought about it for a moment wondering if she should go somewhere with people she'd just met. After some deliberation she said "Yeah, sure. Where are you guys going?" She figured it would be a great opportunity to get to know some people from the Opera and to learn more. She felt a little disconnected from the group as a whole, not being in the company, but she was even more disconnected than she knew.

The man agreed to give Sarah a lift to the restaurant. As they walked to his car Sarah spoke.

"Thanks so much for the ride."

"No problem."

Something dawned on Sarah as they approached his car, "Y'know, I still don't know your name."

"O, it's David." he chuckled.

They went most of the car ride without speaking to each other than finally Sarah asked, "David, if you don't mind me asking. What was all that back there."

"Where?"

"At the Opera House, when you started laughing and Athena looked pissed at you."

There was a long pause before David spoke, "You really don't know, do you?"

"Know what?"

"Everyone has been talking about you."

"Why?"

"You're the chorus girl with no previous experience or training, and these people have spent most of their lives working to get where they are. You show up sing a little song and get right in."

"Really?" Sarah was shocked. "Do you feel like that?"

"I guess I did, but I don't think I feel that way about it anymore." Sarah was relieved to hear this.

"Why is that?"

"I don't believe the things they say about you."

"What do they say?"

He was very serious when he spoke "A lot of people think that you got you your part..." he paused, "I'm only telling you this because I don't think you did it."

Sarah got a little impatient "Did what?"

He finally answered "A lot of people think that you got your part because of couch casting."

Sarah was so new to all of this that basic slang and terminology still escaped her. She didn't know what 'couch casting' was but it did not sound good. So at the risk of sounding stupid she asked, "What's couch casting?"

"People think that you slept with Jacob to get your part."

"What!" She practically screamed at him. "Why?"

"It's not you, it's Jacob. It's his reputation."

"I can't believe this!"

"People put two and two together and made it come out five. I'm really sorry about all of it."

"I don't need this. Maybe I should just quit." She said as a lump came into her throat.

"No you shouldn't." He said sympathetically, "Listen it will just take some time. I've got your back though. If anyone mentions it I'll be sure to tell them otherwise."

"Thanks, that means a lot to me." She forced a smile at him as the car stopped in front of the building. "One thing I want to know is why, if everyone thinks I slept with Jacob, would Athena want me to go with you guys out to eat.

"I think Athena wants to figure out for herself if you did fool around with Jacob." He laughed. "So, no pressure."


End file.
